Hamster cheek pouch carcinoma: effect of incision and cortisone on growth, invasion, and metastasis.

After cheek pouch carcinomas were induced in hamsters by the application of dimethylbenzanthracene (DMBA) to the right pouch for 13 weeks, the animals were divided into four groups and observed for seven more weeks. The control group received no further treatment, two experimental groups had incisional biopsies performed on tumors in their pouches, one of these also received injections of cortisone throughout the 20-week experimental period, and a fourth group received cortisone only. The wet weights of the cancerous cheek pouches were determined, and the submandibular and parotid salivary glands with associated cervical lymph nodes, the lungs, and the liver were examined with light microscopy. The cancerous pouches of the animals that received cortisone weighed significantly less than those of animals that received no cortisone but had incisional biopsies of the tumors. There was no significant difference in the degree of histodifferentiation of the tumors among the four groups. The animals in the two groups that received cortisone had significantly more tumors that were invasive than did the animals that did not receive cortisone. Cervical lymph node metastasis occurred in 21% to 38% of the animals but was not significantly different in the four groups. Distant metastases to the lungs or the liver were not found. Incisional biopsy of the tumors stimulated local growth of the cheek pouch tumors, and systemic cortisone administration produced more invasive cheek pouch tumors.